by Macey Levin It is 1930 and the Harlem Renaissance, as well as the Depression, is in full bloom. The community is struggling to find a new life and though its inhabitants are reaping the rewards of the time, their finances are precarious. This is the setting of Pearl Cleage’s…
by Roseann Cane For 25 years since its premiere in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Honky Tonk Angels has been produced in venues nationwide. Capital Repertory Theatre’s glitzy, extravagant celebration of country music, popular and traditional, is definitely a country music lover’s delight. Ted Swindley’s rather thin story presents a showcase for spectacular…
by Jana Lillie The world premiere of Still at the Dorset Theatre Festival is stunning and needs to be seen. I do so enjoy seeing new plays. There is no lingering memory of how so and so did it, or why that set designer made those choices. New plays give…
by Lisa Jarisch With the Mac-Haydn Theatre season’s 3rd offering, director John Saunders adds another gem to the collection of jewels in his directorial crown, as The Sound of Music fills the house of the theater, and the hills of Chatham, with a glorious production of this 60 year-old, multi…
by Paula Kaplan-Reiss Editor’s Note: Director Jeannie Marlin Woods and assistant stage manager Jess Hoffman are members of our Berkshire on Stage team of critics, but since we all work remotely, Dr. Kaplan-Reiss actually does not know them very well. We decided to overlook this minor conflict of interest in…
by Macey Levin Two friends banter, argue and dream as they stand guard at the Taj Mahal in Agra, Hindustan in 1653, the year of the monument’s completion. Their relationship is the core of Guards at the Taj by Rajiv Joseph, a complex and compelling drama at the Chester Theatre Company,…
by Barbara Waldinger If the script of a play is a blueprint, then its journey from page to stage depends not only on the playwright, but also on the vision of the director, the actors, and the production team. In the case of Brenda Withers’ play, Off Peak, at the…
by Barbara Waldinger Pondering why Million Dollar Quartet is so popular, Berkshire Theatre Group Director/Choreographer Greg Santos attributes its success to the “nostalgia factor”—the hit songs of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”: Elvis Presley. However, if this production consisted only of…
